Built especially for the test on Silverstone’s Stowe Circuit, the Radical SR3 is powered by Suzuki’s legendary GSX1300R Hayabusa engine, with a larger 1500cc capacity producing over 260bhp.
Despite never having driven the Radical before, Viñales was quickly up to speed, lapping the Stowe Circuit and impressing the Radical team who were present to support the Team Suzuki Ecstar rider for the test.
Radical’s Roger Green, commented, “Clearly there’s a big difference between the GSX-RR that Maverick raced to victory at Silverstone and our car, but he was quick to adapt and up to speed fast. Driving a car with downforce requires a different approach, but he’s a quick learner and impressed our crew with his measured approach to it. We’d be delighted to offer him a drive in the future.”
Presented in Team Suzuki Ecstar livery, Viñales made very few set-up changes and instead concentrated on getting used to the direct nature of the car that delivers significant lateral G-force.
Vinales commented, “For me the most impressive thing was the corner speed and the grip and the downforce. It was very impressive how fast you can go through the corners, and I was not used to this, because on a bike you go more slowly. I enjoyed driving it a lot. From MotoGP I am used to fast acceleration, but, even with the heavier weight of the car, I can feel the acceleration from the Hayabusa engine. In all the gears you can still feel it pushing.”
Radical Sportcars and Suzuki have enjoyed a 15-year long relationship with the Japanese manufacturer supplying the Hayabusa engine for use in the Peterborough-based firm’s SR1, SR3 and SR8 racecars. Radical have delivered over 1500 cars in this time with several one-make race series’, a Nordschleife lap record and even entry into the legendary Le Mans 24h race.
For more information on Radical’s SR3, click here.
For information on Suzuki’s on-road range, visit www.suzuki-gb.co.uk